Muse Food – Average Guy Angels And The Unexpected

By Cynthia Sax on March 31, 2025

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted an average guy trying on a pair of angel wings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The average guy seemed to love doing this. (He was surprised by the weight of those wings.) And everyone around him was smiling and laughing.

Because we don’t usually picture an angel as an average guy. They are usually stunningly beautiful and super fit and not wearing white running shoes with black socks. (grins)

Give your story an ‘average guy angel’, something unexpected, something enchanting.

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Local Pricing In Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

By Cynthia Sax on March 28, 2025

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I were watching a vendor operate near the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He was selling slices of mango, watermelon, and pineapple in a bag.

The vendor charged two prices for the same bag.

The tourists paid 250 pesos and had extremely quick, efficient and quiet service.

The locals paid 100 pesos and they were expected to engage in a lot of chatter with the vendor. (smiles) He looked as though he was telling them long, elaborate and very humorous stories.

There was an option to put spice on the fruit.

If you ever buy from that specific vendor, DO NOT take the spice option unless you REALLY like spice.

It was too much for many of the locals. They spluttered and coughed. Their faces turned red. Their eyes watered.

Which made the vendor laugh some more.

(grins)

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Muse Food – Poseidon / Neptune In Mazatlán And Other Gods

By Cynthia Sax on March 24, 2025

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this GIANT statue of Poseidon / Neptune in Mazatlán, Mexico.

It was aptly situated next to the aquarium. (grins)

Almost every culture on Earth has at least one deity featured in its stories. It is human to want to credit the wonders of this planet and the often seemingly random events in our lives to a greater power.

I suspect this will also be true of many off planet cultures.

Who is your character’s deity (or deities)? What do these deities control? What do they look like? How do they act? What do THEY value?

This will tell you and readers a lot about your character’s concerns/beliefs/values.

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Muse Food – Mazatlán And Juxtaposition

By Cynthia Sax on March 18, 2025

We were trekking along a very urban part of Mazatlán, Mexico when we came across this body of water and the greenery surrounding it.

It delighted us.

I LOVE contrasts. They always grab my attention and delight me.

And I’m not alone. Many readers are intrigued by contrasts and juxtapositions also.

The hero with the scarred face and the sadness reflecting in his eyes. The heroine who kicks a$$ yet stops to pet a kitten. The desert planet with a green oasis in the middle of it. The sea licking at the sandy shore.

Use juxtaposition and contrasts to captivate your readers.

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Muse Food – Look Upward

By Cynthia Sax on March 3, 2025

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this vibrantly colored bird in Mazatlan, Mexico.

It is human nature to gaze around us at our eye level. That’s quick. That’s easy.

That’s…dangerous. Because threats can come from the sky. And they can come from below us.

As writers, we tend to describe the scene from our character’s eye level also.

And that can be…uninspired. Because there are likely interesting things happening above their heads and below their feet.

Look upward.

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Muse Food – Revisiting Puerto Vallarta And Circular Storytelling

By Cynthia Sax on February 24, 2025

The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I have been fortunate to visit Puerto Vallarta, Mexico many, MANY times.

We always walk along the Malecon and we usually stop for a moment at the child riding a seahorse scupture.

It is different every time we visit. In the early years, it didn’t have the Puerto Vallarta sign around it. Now, that sign is painted a bit differently every visit.

I like that. I like seeing the changes.

As I like seeing the changes in characters in circular storytelling. When we place characters in a similar situation as they experienced at the beginning of their story, it emphasizes the growth and changes they have endured. That’s fascinating!

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